The time-honored way of showing love in an Italian family is to offer food. Whether we're celebrating, mourning, happy, sad--if we're breathing, there's a table filled with great things to eat. Life's too short, so eat what you love and love what you eat.

Monday, April 15, 2013

Roast Prime Rib

When I saw prime rib on sale right before Easter, I bought one and put it in the freezer. I've made prime rib before, mostly roasting it though I did once grill it on the advice of the butcher. Somehow it just tastes better as a roast. While it isn't difficult to do, the smaller the piece of meat, the more vigilant you need to be to roast it to the desired temperature. I bought a five pound roast which had 3 ribs. That's very small, though it can feed 4-6. I had bookmarked a site (here) and followed the guidelines suggested. The most important advice:

do NOT salt the roast before cooking

place melted butter on the two cut ends prior to roasting

sear the meat at 450 degrees for 15 minutes

roast at 325 degrees for the remainder of the time

check well before you think it will be done

be sure to use accurate thermometers (I used 2 to be sure)

Though the chart indicated my roast would be done between 60 and 70 minutes, it actually took 80 minutes to get it to 120 degrees, perfect for medium rare meat. The incidental cooking while the meat rests for about 15 minutes will raise the temperature to about 125-130 degrees.

My mom used to make prime rib for Easter and it always tasted better than what you are served in restaurants. Of course, mom used to make a huge roast. I would have loved some popovers to go with the beef, but exercised restraint and served it with baked potatoes and spinach sauteed with garlic.

Don't be intimidated by this cut of meat. When it's on sale, give it a try. With a little care and an accurate thermometer, you can master this dish and enjoy it at home.

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TASTE NOTES

Served with a horseradish sauce and some au jus the first night, leftovers are tagged for some upscale cheesesteak sandwiches and some hash. You should have smelled the kitchen!